Constant current variable voltage electric generating system



March 14, 1933. AUSTIN ET AL 1,901,218

CONSTANT CURRENT VARIABLE VOLTAGE ELECTRIC GENERATING SYSTEM Filed July 50, 1931 "will!!!" 25 the voltage in a shunt machine.

Patented Mar. 14, 1933 'rurso STATES P ATENT orrlcs GILBERT .h'QETIHyJAHES COLQUHOUIT MACE AID arm ALLAN ELIAOIABLAHE, Q! GLASGOW, SCOTLAND This invention relates to constant currentvariable voltage electric generating systems, and its chief object is to provide an improved method and apparatus for exciting constant current variable voltage dynamos, whereby the dynamo current is held constant or rigid: with load variation, andthe field is adapted to change "with rapidity in res onse to sudden changes of load.

n the place it is desired attention to the difierences in operating corditions which exist between a dye mo desi ed to give constant current with variable vo tage,'snd the more usual type of dynamo designed to give a. constant voltage with variable current.

Firstly, the constant voltage dynamo works with. a saturated, or nearly suture field which is not varied (except to a small extent for regulating purposes) with the load. A dynamo intended to he provided with shunt-excitation must in fact have its field s stem working at or near saturation, zlor it is t is saturation that limits and stabilizes Even those s ecial cases when the machine must be capa le of adjustment throughout a range of voltages (adustable' volta e) and where on the lower vo ta es the fiel must work in an unsaturated con iticn, it is usual to employ special devices such as compound windings, variable air gaps, etc.,'in order to prevent any variation of the field flux with changes of load. Load variations, therefore, in a constant voltage machine, take place by variations of current, the voltage remaining constant, and since the armature circuit has usu ally a low time-constant as com ared with the field circuit, sudden changes 0 load (such as switchin the load off altogether), can

take place wlthout seriously affecting the stability of the system or bringing about transient conditions of current or voltage which might have the efiect of causing, for instance,

4 flashin over at the commutator;

On t e other hand in a constant current ind 7 amo, since a change of load involves a c ange of voltage if the current is to remain constant, any change ofload simultaneously 0 involves a change of: flux in the field magnet VARIABLE VQLTAGE ELECTRIC some SYSTEM:

July 3%,, 1981, Serial 55o. 558,958, and in Great Britain lloeemher 1'5, "i830.

system and therefore of the stored energy of that system. Since the time constant of the magnetic field is large compared with that of? the armature circuit, sudden'changes of load may lead to variations of the current owin the inability of the r: {:n'etic held to follow changes of load ichly enough. This r as a consequence lead to flashing over at the brushes and to undue stress on other g s oi the machine, as particularly when the rec suddenly re duced.

In our invention provide an improved means for exciting as constant current gen erator, whereby the shove described ohjeccs tions are eliminated,or greatly reduced, and thoroughly stable operation is secured.

According to this invention We nrovide tor a constant current-variable voltage crating system, the combination with a To constant current dynamo, of an exciter the capacity on? which is such that under transient conditions it is capable of giving a voltage at its terminals greatly in excess oi? that required lay the main dynamo field an der :Eull load excitation, the limits being from twice to about one hundred times normal voltage, according to the design required, the field excitation of the exciter consisting of, an abutment coil supplied from a separate source at constant voltage and an opposing coil the current in which is either the main. constant current or a current strictly proponticnal thereto, the field system of the exciter being made relatively large in order to en- E eble it to work with a small difi'erence in M. M. F. between the two coils in order to provide rigidity of current output and re idity of operation under transient conditions. 9%

Preferably the polar air gaps of the main dynamo are tapered in order to increase the rapidity of the changes ofthe dynamo field in response to sudden changes in load, also a ballast resistance may be inserted in the circult of the abutment coil for the purpose hereinafter described.

In order that our invention may be properly understood, we will now describe our invention, by way of example, with reference gain in output to be obtained by allowing negative direction, by shiftingbt to the accompanying drawing, whereon:-

Fig. 1 is a diagramshowin the connections of a dynamo and'exciter 1n accordance with our invention.

Fig. 2 is a diagram of a machine in accordance with our invention, showing the taperin of the air gap under the main (1 amo 'po es for the purpose to be describe later.

Fig. 3 is a saturation curv'e showing. the

the dynamo to' work well beyond the knee of the saturation curve instead of confining operation within the unsaturated part of the curve,'as is necessar with the usual design of constant current ynamo.

Referring to the drawing A. (Fi 1) is the armature of a constant current ynamo with a field winding F separatoly excited from the exciter armature E in the circuit W1, W2. G is the exciting coil small amount .of adllistment of the volt e over the exciter bru es, roportional to t e exciter armature load, at er in a. ositive or e exciter brushes within the range covers the interpole face. A coil H is connected in series with the main constant current circuit J1 J2 of the dynamo A-and arranged to oppose the (1 rigidity,

rapidi is meant the ability of the d separate] excited abutment coil G. It will be seen t at the excitation ,of the exciter E is provided for by the difference in M. M. F. between the abutment coil G and the series opposing coil H, and this difi'erence between t e two coils may be made as small as we please b making the magnetic path in the exciter eld andarmature of relatively large section and low reluctance so that a large flux is obtained with the small M. M. F.

Now is a constant current-variable volta dynamo there are two essential points to taken into consideration, in the design, viz

(2) rapidity. tg rigi yis means theinherent ability of e combination of dynamo and exciter to hold the current at, or near to, a constant value under any variation of load, irrespective of any special compounding coils, saturation, etc., or any similar devices. By

amo to ter its field in response to su den changes of. load, as fast as, or faster than, the load itself can change.

Hitherto the upper limit of usefulvoltage in a constant current dynamo has been fixed at the point where saturation of the magnetic circuit just commences. This means that with constant current dynamos as hitherto made relative rigidity is only obtained by ograting the magnetic circuit 0 the dynamo low saturation and by the use of spe- -cial compounding devices which results in a large and clumsy main machine.

In our invention, owing to the relatively large capacity of the excitcr and to the construction adopted, the main nerator can have its iron parts carried well a ve the knee of the saturation curve so that the useful voltage range is-extended by 30% or more. This is shown in Fig. 3 where S represents the point on the saturation curve beyond which ordinary designs of constant dynamos are never worked, and-T represents the extra volta e obtainable with a combination desigFe under the resent invention.

his has a twoold efl'ect in respect that (1) The main generatoris cheapened by such an amount that the saving in cost'more than counterbalances the extra cost of the lar r exciter employed. I

E2 Owing to the smaller amount of material in the ma etic system of the main erator the store energy is less, and there or: the generator itself is'inherently more rapi in its response to changes of load.

In our invention 'in so far as it relates to the exciter, the first condition, namely that of rigidity, is met b making the normal difference in M. M. F. tween the coils G and H small relatively to the actuallf M. F. of each coil, and the second condition, that of rapidity .is met by making the change of this small normal difl'erence very great for small changes of load. In orderto keep the self and mutualinductanees of the coils G and H as low as possible the exciter magnetic circuit is kept large insection and low in reluctance so that the actual turns of each winding may not be excessive although the flux passing through the exciter armature may be very large.

the air ap of the exciter fieldis made as as possi 1e, even down to the clearances usually considered necessary in induction motor practice, although for some urposes the poles ma be provided with gra ed air gaps. e

is leads to a heavy type of exciter in re- Ill spect that the magnetic arts are very much larger in section than or a normal is more than counterbalanced by the reduction in cost of the main generator brought about by the use of such a large exciter.

To give an example suppose that the field F (Fig. 1) is desi ed to work on full load with a maximum 0 10 volts; i. e., 10 volts over F, will give full normal voltage over the generator armature A. Assume that the exciter is so designed that with a difl'erence between G and H of 20 ampere-turns (ATS), theexciter voltage is 10, and further assume that it dwellv of machine, but as explained above, thisis desired that with a variationbf1% :iiao

constant current, the exciter voltage will change 100%, then (1) G-H 20 ATS.

and from formulas 1 and 2, or 1 and 2a we find that H must be 2000 ATS and G must be 2020 4 ATS for normal full load.

Thus it will be seen that for rigidity a change of 1% in current will either double the volts over the field F or wipe them out altoto the direction of the change, and as or rapidity, provided the field of the exciter is fully laminated, a sudden change of 10% in the main current will im 'ress immediately a voltage over the field coils F equal (in the example chosen) to 11 times full normal voltage, thus forcing the field of the main generator to correct the transient change of current with greatrapidity. Violent changes of load in the main circuit therefore produce greatly enhanced changes of voltage at the terminals of coil F, forcing the main field to change at a rate equal (at least) to the rate of chan e of the main armature current notwit-hstan ing the greater inductanceof the field coil F. In fact the time constant of the exciter plus generator field,.can by this means, he made equal to, or even-less than, the time constant of the main circuit which is what is required for stable operation.

In the above example we have assumed that 20 ATS in the exciter field are necessary to nerate 10 volts, and this leads to co'ils G and having 2020 ATS and 2000 ATS respectively. Should these figures involve in any particular case too many turns in the coils G and H in view of the mutual inductive efiect to be escribedlater) it is ossible to reduce the turns on each coil by ma ing the exciter magnetic paths of still larger section and smaller reluctance so as to pass the same flux with fewer ATS. For instance if the iron and air gap sections are increased so that 10 ATS will give 10 volts at the brushes of the exciter then the coils G and II will have, 1010 and 1000 ATS respectively, that is, for the same field currents, G and H will each have half the number of turns required for the first example. 7

It is essential that the exciter should be rapid in action and that changes of load should afiect the exciter in such a way that the voltage at the exciter brushes adjusts itself almost instantaneously to the change of load. Since the coils G and H are on the same field system there will exist an inductive relationship between them and owing to transformer action, any rapid change of flux brought about by a change of current the coil H will generate a voltage in the coil G tending to oppose the change. This transient voltage will be added to,'or subtracted from, the voltage of the constant voltage source B, and will momentarily tend to delay the change of flux in the exciter field. In order to reduce the time constant of the coils G and H the magnetic paths of the exciter are made large in section and low in reluctance, as described above, so as to reduce the number of turns in each coil, but in addition we may enhance the rapidity of action of the exciter field very considerably by making the coil G relatively ineflicient by including in the circuit of G a large ballast resistance R so that a considerable proportion (say from to of the constant voltage due to B is absorbed in B. This has a two-fold efl'ect. In the first place, if R absorbs say of the voltage of B, then G will utilize only A; of the supply voltage (under steady conditions) and consequently the coil G must be made with only of theturns it would otherwise have and consume 3 times the current in order to maintain the same ATS. Under these conditions the power taken for excitation of the coil G from the source B will be 3 times as great as it would be if G was designed to utilize the whole voltage of B, and of this power will be wasted in of the turns it would otherwise have and its inductance is correspondingly reduced.

In the second place, twing to the drop of voltage over the resistance It any variation of current in the coil G is quickly damped out because the drop over G is small compared with the drop over R. For example, if the source B is 30 volts, then under the condition given above the resistance R will absorb 20 volts and the coil G, 10 volts. If, however, the current in G should be reduced to half of its steady value owing to some transient load condition, the drop over R will instantaneously fall to 10 volts, leaving 20 volts over G (instead of the normal 10 volts) to overcome the transient transformer voltage which is causing the drop in current. V

By these methods, therefore, the field system of the exciter is made extremely rapid and can adjust itself without appreciable delay to extremely rapid variations of the load on the main circuit. It is assumed of course, to getthe maximum advantage from these devices, the exciter field is made fully laminated.

A regulating resistance may be included in the circuit of G or the resistance B may be made variable within limits as shown in Fig. 1.

- The rapidity of operation of similarly designed constant current dynamos decreases as the size increases, owing to the increased cubic capacity of their magnetic circuits and consequently the stored ener and this is more particularly the case wit large output machines as there are generally of relatively low speed. It will not be practicablyticable speed-fora machine of its output; and

this arrangement, while it reduces the size of the machine owing to the increased speed,

also reduces it owing to the better ventilation obtained.

A transient exciter output capacity equal to the continuous output capacity of the main generator can be realized in many cases by this means, and this is the equivalent in magnetizing effect to an induction motor running on a 50 cycle supply at .7 power factor. In such an induction motor the wattless magnetizing current is equal to the power component of the current and is ca able of completely reversing the magnetic field in cycle, that is 1/100 second.

Similar conditions will therefore apply in the D. C. case if the transient exciter capacity is made equal to the continuous capacity of the main machine in respect that the exciter will be capable not only of reducing the main field to zero but of completely reversing it in .1/ 100 second.

The provision of a large ca acity exciter makes it unnecessar to supp y a separate compound winding, ut in order to make up for any small change of current not provided for by the relatively small difference between the abutment coil G and the opposition coil H we may arrange specially to design the interpole D-so as to allow of some latitude in brush position, and displace the exciter brushes by an amount sufiicient to get the overcompounding, if any, desired.

Instead of, or in addition to the above arrangement, the following arrangement may be adopted In machines without interpoles, the coil or coils under commutation have a demagnetizing effect owing to the short circuit currents set up in them by the armature crossmagnetizing flux. If the interpoles are overwound so that they not only balance the armature crossM. M. F., but actually reverse it, then the coils short circuited by the brushes will carry shortcircuit currents which will have a ma etizing effect on the main field, and this e ect may be used for compounding.

In order to still further increase the rapidity of acti n of the main generator itself under sudden changes of load we may arrange to taper the air gaps under the poles as shown in Fig. 2, wherein A is the armature of the mainconstant current generator, and F1 and F2 the field coils separately excited from the exciter E (Fig. 1) L1, L2

are the brushes and J1, J2 the main constant current circuit, one line of which supplies the coil H (Figure 1).

The field coils F1, F2 produce an excitation in the direction of the arrow M. The direction of rotation is shown by the arrow N, and the direction of the armature M. M. F. in relation to the pole faces is indicated by the circular arrows K1, K2. YVith full excitation on the poles the armature M. M. F. is added to the field M. M. F. M, at the tips a1, a2 (where the air gap is largest) but is substracted from the field M. M. F. M, at the tips b1, b2. \Vith suitable grading of the taper of the air gap this results in a fairly uniform flux over the whole pole face under full load conditions.

On the other hand when the polar M. M. F. M falls to zero the armature M. M. F. K1, K2 sends a flux into the poles at the tips 02, b1 and out of the poles at the tips al, 122. Since the reluctance of the path at al and a2 is greater than the reluctance of the path at 61 and 62 on account of the greater air gaps at al and a2, and since the armature M. M. F. is approximately equal at all four ti s (with brushes in the neutral position), this results in a reverse fluxv being forced through the armature and field magnets at the tips b1, b2 as indicated by the chain dotted arrow P. Therefore, for zero load, that is, no voltage over the brushes L1, L2, it follows that the main polar M. M. F. M need not be reduced to zero, but will still have a value equal to about 1 or of its value at full load, when the voltage over the brushes L1, L2 is zero.

It will be evident that not only does the exciter E (Fig. 1) require to operate only on a range of to of the maximum voltage over F (for a change from full load to no load or vice versa), but that at lower excitations the armature reaction of the main generator itself acts in such manner as to assist the exciter in changin the field flux of the main machine with su den changes of load, the increased armature reaction due to increased load current having the effect of reducing the total flux from the poles of the main machine. Since the armature reaction of the main generator armature, with tapered air gaps as shown on Fig. 2, is equivalent at low excitations to a reverse series coil, the change brought about in this manner is very rapid as the machine approaches zero load. This effect, taken in conjunction with the extremely rapid exciter is of very great importance in preventing flashing over at the commutator of the main generator, and other possible dama e, when the load is suddenly switched o a condition which occurs fre' quently in constant current generators of ordinary design. Where the field system of both generator and exciter are fully laminated itwill be posible to design constant cur-- rent dynamos which have the same ra idity characteristics as alternatin current induction motors in which the tlme required to ch e fromfull power to zero power is cyclei equal to 1/200 second on a 50"cycle great speed of change from full load to no load will in itself tend to cause a certain amount of .sparking due to the breakdown of flux threading the armature coil actually under commutation at the time. Apart from the use of interpoles this tendency to s ark at the instant of load change can be eliminated bythe use of high resistance commutator connections such as are in common use on A. C. commutator motors.

In the above we have shown that in order 90 to obtain complete rigidity and rapidity in a constant current, variable volta e dynamo, it is necessary to design the exclter with a relatively large and heavy field system, unsaturated under all conditions of load, and

between the coils G and H (Fig. 1), and further to keep down the self and mutual in duction of the coils G and H by reducing the number of turns as far as possible, this be- .ing brought about by reducing the reluctance of the magnetic circuit of-the exciter to a minimum'and by inserting if necessary a ballast resistance R in the circuit of G, as a1- read described.

en such'an exciter is used to excite the field of a constant current generator, the generator can, as explained above, be made smaller than a constant current generator of normaldesign, because it will be permissible,

run the magnetic material of the generator well above the knee of the saturation curve as shown at T, Fig: 3, whereas with a constantcurrent dynamo designed on normal lines the maximum saturation allowable would be as shown at point S on Fig. 3.

In operation this gives a machine in accordance with our invention a greater speed of operation at lower loads, this being what is required, because experience has shown that the switching off of a load, or its sudden reduction, is the most dangerous condition owing to-the fact that in machines as ordinarily designed the fields cannot change quickly enough, and with reducing load the current vtends to increase undul causing flashing over anda general distur ance of the system.

Exciters of the size proposed have not, as far as .we are aware, hitherto been used in any type of machine and even with small low speed machines (whether D. C. constant voltage or D. C. constant current machines, A. C. a ternators or rotary c'onvertors) the excitation power very seldom exceeds 5% of the output power of the main machine even unto work with a small difference of M. M. F.

with the 'margin allowed on the exciter, to

der momentary conditions. In fact for machines of to k." w. output capacity running at normal speeds, the excitations capacity provided would not as a rule exceed 1% to 1%% of the capacity of the main enerator.

With our invention, however, t e exciter would be of such size as to be capable of giving a transient volta e of from twice up to possibly 100 times depending on the cir-' cumstances of the case) that of an exciter designed on more ordinary lines, although its output under steady conditions may not be any larger than that of a machine designed on more ordinary lines. 0 give an example 2- Suppose the field F is required for steady maximum voltage to take 50 amperes at 10 volts over its terminals, an exciter of ordinary type would be designed to give 10 volts- 50 amperes at its full load and would not be capable of appreciably exceeding this output, because the field F forms a resistance load for steady conditions and the only way to increase the current through would be to increase the voltage. Since exciters as ordinarily designed are worked with the magnetic material'well over the knee of the saturation curve, this means that an increase of voltage of more than 25% is inmost cases not attainable. Inithe case of a machine according to our invention the exciter, would be a large undersaturatedmachine working normally at a load very much under its maximum and capable under abnormal conditions of developlng a voltage which may be (as the particular case may require) anything from 20 to 1000 volts. case and would only be r uired in the case of very diflicult circuits. sually the maximum transient voltage of such an exciter will 'not exceed 5 to 20 times its mam'mum steady voltage. With this invention, then, the combination of a constant current generator,'of smaller size than usual, with an exciter of considerably greater transient capacitythan usual and designed on the lines set forth in the fore-- going description, the greater size of the exciter combined with the method of winding and construction set forth enables the size of the main generator to be reduced by an 1 The latter case would be an extreme amount suflicient to balance (or more than balance) the cost of the larger exciter,while at the same time all the advantages of rigidity and rapidity of operation hereinbefore described are obtained, this rigidity and'rapidity bein further enhanced by the methods further ascribed, namely the use of a large ballast resistance in the circuit of the coil G and the use of graded air gaps in the main machine as described with reference to Fig. 2. It will be found that if a design is properly carried out following the lines laid down in this specification, then:-

( 1) The cost of the combination'ofief citer.

and dynamo is not greater than, and may less than, that of a combination designed on normal lines.

.(2) The efliciency of the combination is as high as, or higher than, that of a normally decombination are enhanced to such an extent that a practicable constant current-variable .volta generator can be designed capable of working with the same (or greater) stability and freedom from commutator troubles, that characterize a well designed constant voltage machine. The use of graded air gaps is already known for im rovin the commutation and increasing the oad e ciency of constant voltage generators.-

I claim 1. In or for a constant current-variable voltage generating system, the combination with a main constant current dynamo of size smaller than the normal for the re uired output, of an exciter the capacity 0 which is such that under transient conditions it is capable of givin .a volta at its terminals several times (t e limits ing from twice to about 100 times in accordance with the design required) higher than that ured from the exciter by the main d amo eld under full load excitation, the fie d excitation of the exciter consisting of an abutment coil supplied from .a separate source of constant voltage and an op sin coil the current in which is either t e mam constant current or a current strictly roportional thereto, the magnet system of the exciter being made of extremel low reluctance in order to enable it to wor with a small difl'erence in M. M. F. between the two coils for the purpose of providing rigidity of current output, and

aving a small number of ampere turns in each coil for the purpose of obtaining.rapidity of operation under transient conditions, the number of ampere turns in each coil being as small as possible concomitantly with the desired voltage andlow reluctance .of the exciter.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, in

I which the. current in the opposin coil con- .sists of, the armature current 0 dynamo itself. I

8. In a constant current-variable voltage the main electric generating system, the combination with a main constant current dynamo, of an exciter the capaci of which enables it, under transient conditions. to give a voltage at its terminals greatly in excess of that re- ..qiirgd by th main dynamo field under full load excitation, the limits beingfrom twice to about one hundred times normal voltage according to the design required, the field excitation of the exciter consisting of, an abut ment coil supplied from a separate source of constant voltage, and an opposing coil the current in which is proportional to the main constant current, the field system of the exciter being made relatively large in order to enable it to work with a small difference in M. M. F. between the two coils in order to provide rigidity of current output and rapidity of operation under transient conditions, and a ballast resistance in the circuit of the abutment coil capable of absorbing a considerable proportion of the voltage from the constant voltage source.

4. In a constant curent-variable voltage electric generating system, the combination with a main constant current dynamo, of an exciterthe capacit of which enables it, under transient con itions, to give a voltage at its terminals greatly in excess of that required by the main dynamo field under full load excitation, the limits being from twice to about one hundred times normal volt according to the design required, the fie d excitation of the exciter consisting of, an abutment coil supplied 'from a separate source of constant voltage, and an opposing coil the curent in which is roportional to the main constant current, the field system of the exciter being made relatively large in order to enable it to work with a small difierence in M. M. F. between the two coils in order to provide frigidity of curent out-' put and ra idity of operation under transient conditions a ballast resistance in the circuit of the abutment coil capable of absorbing a considerable proportion of the vol tags from the constant voltage source, interpo es on the exciter designed and adapted in addition to their normal function of improving the commutation, togive an overcompounding effect on the voltage of the exciter by shifting the brushes within the range of the interpole face.

5. Ap aratus as claimed in claim 4, in which 't e over-compounding efiect of the interpoles is obtained by over-winding the same.

6. In or for a constant current-variable voltage electric generating system, a main a separate source of constant but adjustable voltage, and an opposing coil carrying the current of said main constant current dynamo, the field sydiem of the'exciter bein relatively hr in order to enable it to wor with a small ilerence in M. M. F. between the vtwocoils. v

" 7. In or foraconstant current variable voltage electric generating'system having a mam constant current dynamo, an exciter capable of giving a voltage. several times (the limits being from twice to about 100 times) t 10 higher than that required from the exciter b g the field oi said main dynamo under load excitation, the field eigcit'ation of the e'xciter being provided by an abutment coil adapted to be energized from a constant v01- 3 tage source and an opposing coil ogeposing,

said abutment coil and adaptedto enerfiired by the armature current of said min.

= ynamo or by a current strictly proportional thereto, the magnet srstem of the exciter be- .39 madeoi e'xtrem y' low reluctance to enab 0 it to work with a small difierence in M. F. between the two coils, for the purpose oiobtaining rigidity of current output, and having a small number of ampere 35 turns in each coil for the purpose of obtaining rapidi of operation under transient conditions, number of ampere turns in each coil, made as small as possible conseomitantlywlth the desired voltage, and low reluctance of the exciter.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signacuamaumu.

1 4 mm: comuuouu ucnauum. *ss

mu alumncnams. 

